$1.95

see PAGE 52

ABOUT THE COVER: In one o f the most exciting photo sessions to happen in BLACK BELT's studios. modorn arnis founder Remy Presas prepares to st rike down a charging Oan CiV lto. Photo by Marcia Mack.

KBElT Michael James, Publisher Garl Simon, Assistant Publisher

BLACK BELT STAFF James Nail, Ekccutive Editor Albar GeneSiS, An Director Jim Coleman, Assistant Editor Jack Vaughn, Copy Editor Kurt Seemann, Editorial Assi stant Jan Wilhelm. Typography Marcia Mack, Photographer

ADVERTISING Barbara Lessard

CONTENTS

FEATURES

CIRCULATION Mercy Ca udillo

CUSTOMER SERVICE Joan LaMarr CONTRIBUTORS Brainard Kebbleman Richard Bulz Robort Dil lon Gary Goldstein Mike Kennelly Sherry O'Sullivan Robert Sledd Phillip Zarlilli

AUGUST 1982, VOL. 20, NO.8

20 ARNIS: THE ART WITHIN YOUR ART - Arn is is far from being merely a stick· and knife-f ighting art. It also employs the princip les of most every major empty-hand system.

31 THE VITAL POINTS: CHINESE MEDICAL AND MARTIAL ARTS-The second in a three·part series on Chinese medicine, this article discusses traditional herbology and acupressure- and their uses in martial art s training.

40 KALARIPPAYATT: THE SWORD AND SHIELD COMBAT OF ANCIENT INDIA-In the advanced stages of kalarippayatt , the student begi ns to special ize in his chosen weapons-of which the sword and shield are most difficult.

44 SELF·DEFENSE AND THE MIND: DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEM-Mental preparedness for self-defense is at least as important as physical technique.

52 THE WING CHUN WOODEN DUMMY-The techniques of mook yan jong, the wooden man, are among the most esoteric and advanced of wing chun.

58 AMERICAN SAMURAI: THE MARTIAL ARTS AT WEST POINT - Continuing the samurai tradition on new soil, the warriors of Wesl Point learn ancient martial art s.

66 THE WAY OF THE SWORD-Kendo, kenjutsu, iaido-all three make up the "way of the sword," the granddaddy of the Japanese martial arts.

76 THE ART AND TEACHING OF DAN INOSANTO-One of the legendary figures of the modern martial arts scene, Dan Inosanto teaches his own combination of boxing, karate, wing chun and esc rima- all in a free-flowing format.

FICTION

72 BRIDGE BANDIT - Adapted from the Tales of Yoshitsune, this story tells of the young warrior's first encounter with his lifelong friend, Benkei. A ta le of chiva lry from old Japan.

DEPARTMENTS

6 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 8 INSTRUCTORS' FORUM

13 BLACK BELT TIMES 86 HALL OF FAME BALLOT

106 LIBRARY OF BACK ISSUES 107 KI CALENDAR OF RATED EVENTS 113 DOJO DIRECTORY

BLACK BELT magazine-ISSN 0277·3066-ls published monthly plus yearbook by Rainbow Publications, Inc. Editorial. advellising and ci rculation o ff ices at 181 3 Vic tory Place. BUlbank. CA 9 1504. Second·class postage paid BUlbank, CA. and addit ional post ollices. Telephone: (21 3) 843·4444 or 849·2181. Consut tants: Uyetlara Milnilgement Inc ., t314 S. King Street, Sulle 863, Honolulu, HI 96814. Subscription rates in the United Stales arc one year (12 issues pluS y!?arbook). S21 .00: two years, $42.00. (FOleign countries add 52.50 per year lor postage.) The publisher and editors will not be responsible lor unsolic ited materi al. Manuscripts and photographS must be accomp3l1ied by a stamped. sell·add ressed envelope. Printed in the United States by World Color PlOSS. Inc .. 51. LOuiS. Copy/iglu © 1982 by Rainbow Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction wilhout permission is slflctly prohib ited.

ARIMIS: THE ART WITHIIU YOUR ART by Brainard Kebbleman

#A nornplcte stranger to the rnattial arts. To him ttie great rnyslety of karate training is tl-at such a relatively smaM number of kicks, punches, and lilocks can leaii a man or wtjman to such prof ciency and skill. Even more difficult for the stranger to com-pichend is ttie unyiekJing nature of the art. While an instructor may have stu­dents of many different heights, sees, v^eights,-and natural abilities, each Will learn but one v̂ ny to execute the side snap kick. The rignt v^ay! Tech­nique, in otrer words, is everything: h karate, the student IS molten liquid to be pourtKi ir to the karate mold.

Kung fu styles are similar yet different. 20

Students find the simplicity of this Filipino style a major attraction

m

Typically a kung fu form contains more movement and requires more- mem­orization as a conse­quence. Like the technique of a trallet student, tfie moves of the student of kung fu will be subjected to minute criticisms. In some systems the teach­ers withhold techniques and forms until after a stu dent has tiad many years of instruction.

it has now become something of a martial arts commonplace to sue; gest that the average Joe can earn a black belt in | three years and pos.sibiy learn to defend himself in five, ft/lany traditional kung fu teachers, it would seem, v/ouid accept a similar view with regard to kung fu. sugqer.tmg, perhaps.

D/Wto employs a favorite kickboxirtg sequence by roundtiouse kicking (1) to the back of Repiogie's thigh, then foiiowing up with a roundhouse to the back of the head (2). Presas makes use of a siightiy more unor­thodox kicking sequence (3) by landing a crescent kick to the back of his attacker's thigh (4), and foiiowing up with a second kick (5) under the shouider.

Dan DiVito answers Mike Repiogie's left hand reverse punch (1) with a middle in­side block (2), grabs Repiogie's punch with his right hand and throws (3) a left backfist in the ciassicai karate styie. Presas, con­fronted with the same punch (4), offers an amis, but karate-like, answer. Parrying with a cross-body block, Presas grabs (5) the punch and (6) throws a back hand palm strike.

that the timetable should be doubled or tripled for a student of the Chinese arts.

The beginning student of either karate or kung fu concerns himself first and

foremost with technique. Gradually, the student learns that the most dif­ficult aspect of either art consists not so much of the techniques, but the transitions between those techniques—the 180-degree turns between blocks, the step before the jump kick, and so on. More importantly to self-defense, the transitions between techniques must be mastered before either karate or kung fu begins to yield to the student's ef­forts to free fight without putting aside his martial arts "knowledge" and merely flailing away. This expiains why a typical tournament fight so easily

becomes a brawl with students regardless of rank, swinging and kicking with desperate intensity and a dangerous neglect of control.

Unfortunately, or per­haps not, most people are simply not prepared for the many years of physical inadequacy that precedes a competence in either karate or kung fu. Cor­rected for every single ex­ecution of technique, the superficialiy interested stu­dent ioses interest.

If all this sounds pain­fully true, then you have come a step closer to ap­preciating why so many martial artists in other styles have attached them­

selves to the decidedly in­formal nature of modern amis as taught by "Pro­fessor" Remy Presas.

"The professor doesn't worry all that much about your stance," explains Los Angeles amis student and tae kwon do black belt, Dan DiVito. "He just gets you doing these things he wants you to do and then watches until your stance begins to correct itself. The people who have train­ed in other styles under­stand almost instinctively why you have to adjust your stance in amis. You have to deal with the balance and reach of your opponent. Students of other arts love correcting

I m 23

1

.. "

In this sequence, DiVito grabs Replogle's gi (1), turns clockwise (2), and executes (3) a judo-like throw. Presas, attacked by an opponent with a stick (4), blocks, secures his opponent's wrist (5), and (6) throws his at· tackers.

24

2

themselves. And everybody is surprised by how quick· Iy Professor Presas actu al· Iy gets down ·to the busi· ness of teaching."

How does he get down to teach ing? He hands out two 18·inch lengths of rat· tan, grabs a student in front of the class, and ar·

3

6

ranges hi s arms just the way he wants them. The students imitate.

First things first. In· stead of the horse stance, the first thing the student learns in arnis is "the flow." To Presas, this is the essence of his martial art. Quite simply, the flow is the student's ability to interact with an opponent. The professor likes to in· troduce this concept by waltzing students, one at a time, around the floor. The student holds a stick and Presas holds a stick. The teacher makes a slashing motion with his stick as if it were a sharp sword he was planning to slash across the shoulders or thighs of his student. With his free iland, the student deflects the attacking arm by pushing it to one side, and then, with the stick hand, slices across the at· tacker's arm. Following this one/two motion, the defender brings both arms back to defend the front of

Presas (Jeft) and prodigy Dan Anderson demonstrate the striking patterns of amis.

c

his body. By going over and over these defensive and countering motions, the student begins to develop the eye to hand coordination necessary to track the teacher's movements. As the speed of the attack is increased, the student finds himself concentrating at a level of intensity he might once have thought impOSSible.

"That's it ," laughs Pro­fessor Presas with obvious disruptive pleasure. "You got it!" He stops attacking and steps back to grin. "That 's the flow. "

What Presas means, of course, is that the student has now experienced some taste of the hyp· notic, intense interaction necessary to excel at aT­

nis. When it comes to learn·

ing technique, Presas has developed a hands·on method of instruction that, according to arnis students Dan DiVito and Mike Replogle, cancels almost any need for any· thing but the most ele· mentary language.

Continued on page 29

~ "v

'.

DiVito steps away (1) (rom a Replogle punch. He grabs the wrist (2) and turns it sharply toward his attacker's face, forcing the fist backward against the joint toward the shoulder (3). Either the 0ppo, nent will consent to falling backward or suffer a broken wrist. In a disarming move, Presas steps out (4), snares the wrist (5), and forces his opponent to (6) give up con· trol of his weapon to the same wristlock.

:l f.~ , . - ~

J J "

y

" Having spen t so many years following the flow, " explains Dan Di Vito, "movement has become part of his way of life. He senses when his students are ti red, bored, thirsty, whatever. And then he just modi fies his approach, finds another way of teaching his material."

Indeed, wh ile Presas

typically starts off every class with sticks, he often issues orders to put the sticks aside. Empty·hand drills follow the same basic motions as the sticks travel. Within a few hours, Presas can teach 50 attentive students the rudiments of single st ick, double stick, points of at· tack and defense, empty·

v~ ./'

hand drills, and a few basic stick disarming techniques.

" More than just about anybody I've ever seen," says top· rated Northwest tournament competitor, Fred King, " Professor Presas has an ability to

Without the sticks, the same movements of arnis can be transformed into a takedown.

29

1

4

In boxing (1), the hook punch is a standard method of at· tack. Rotation of the shoul· ders (2) as shown by DiVito ;s crucial to the success of the blow (3~ Making use of a cross-body block, Presas employs an arnis counter by fuming his shoulders dramatically (5) and following up (6) with an elbow to the ribs.

30

transfer his own expertise in the art of arnis to his students. It's almost like a transfusion. Even the clumsiest student wil l work with the professor and look like a skilled practitioner. What's really funny is that at the end of a long session or seminar with him, students are usually walking around grinning and shaking their heads because they can 't believe how much they've learned in a short time." A wun hop kuen do kung fu teacher, King has been. training with Presas for about two years. While King is quick to pOint out that his primary art is the wun hop kuen do in which he trained wi th AI Dacascos, he explains that he became interested in arnis because of having trained to defend against clubs, and because he sensed a sim ilarity be· tween his own style of

3

6

kung fu and the directness of modern arnis.

As for Pres as, his own fondness for " the flow" seems to extend beyond his art to his lifestyle. Rather than putting down roots in one city, Presas

has become " a gypsy of the martial arts," traveling to major cities and con· ducting weekend seminars for students at established martial arts schools-that seems to suit the Pres as

Con linued on page 8':

ARNIS Continued from page 30

style. Thi s trai t-the rest­lessness- goes back, he admits, to his boyhood in the Philippines. After hav­ing defied the wishes of hi s parents, Presas left home at 14 to learn arnis and the other martial arts he found so much more attractive than business or school. By the time he finally returned home, he was not only skilled in ar­nis, but was a black belt in both karate and judo as well. While his father wanted him to go into business- and in a way he has-Remy himself never wanted to do any­thing but promote hi s beloved Filipino arts.

In 1975, having trained actor Dean Stockwell in ar­nis for a movie called Th e Pacific Connection, the machinery that would

transport Presas to the Uni ted States began slow­ly to move forward.

Jose D. Aspiras, Secretary of Tourism for the Phili ppines, helped ar­range to send the teacher on a world tour to promote the Fili pino's martial arts. Teodoro F. Valencia, con­sidered "The Father of

Li ke his sticks, the pro­fessor has rarely been still si nce his arrival. He has taught at police aca­demies, instructed elderly residents of inner cities in the rudiments of self­defense with canes, um­brellas, and arn is sticks, and ingratiated himsel f wi th esteemed mart ial ar-

" Presas finally arrived in the States, a man with a reputation for

'thinking big' in a big country."

Filipino Sport ," likewise lent his support, as did Colonel Dante Nagdalon, President of the Philippine Karate Association. After stints teach ing arnis in Japan and Malaysia, Presas finally arrived in the States, a man with a reputation for " thinking big" in a big country.

tists al l over the country. Ernie Reyes, Dan

Anderson, Keith Vitali , Fred King, are only a handful of the well-known martial artists who have trained with Presas. And while many marti al arts teachers insist on style and personal loyalt ies that are often difficu lt to

observe, Pres as is not comfortable with the kind of remote egotism that so often burdens other mar­tial arti sts of comparable skills. In fac t, he makes a point of openl y admiring not only other arts but other martial artists as well.

"All the arts are good," says Presas. "A student who wi ll work hard at his art will become proficient in time." People seem at­tracted to this tolerance ­arnis lovers and practi · tioners do not seek to diminish the other martial arts. "Those who under­stand arni s cannot say anything bad about other arts," Presas insists, " because they know that arnis contains aspects and elements of all these other arts."

Like many, if not most, martial arts teachers, Presas feels more comfort-

Continued on page 88

ARNIS Continued trom page 84

able in a showing si tua­tion than in circumstances where he must rely only on language. One feels that this would be so even if Eng lish were his native tongue.

Classical karate I for ex­ample, makes use of a high inside bl ock which could be followed by a backfist follow up. As part of the hand technique taught by Presas, the stu­dent learns to deflect an oncoming right hand punch with a cross-over right hand deflection_ Hav­ing deflected the punch, the left hand now snatches the punching forearm as the circ ling right hand scores with a backfist or an open palm strike delivered with back­fi st motion. "So," explains Presas, "if you know the

high inside block and backf ist of karate, you know something from ar­nis as welL"

Where many kung fu teachers wi ll stress the " sticky-hands" drill as an essential part of a student's training, Presas makes use of a similar tra in ing game by drill ing students in deflecting punches either to the out­side or inside, grasping the attacking arm, and delivering a circular strike or punch. An attacker's punch can be deflected either to the attacker's outside or his in side. In either case, the defender deflects or parries the punch, grabs it briefly with his other hand, and moves in wi th a circular backfist­like counter. An opponent knowlegeable in th is aspect of arnis can block the backfist-like counter and seize the initiative. This back and forth spar-

Continued on page 100

ARNIS Continued from page 88

ring often continues until the arms of the students have been all but ex­hausted. Whereas the sticky-hands game de­pends on the unpredict­ability of an opponent, the surprising element in the. arnis drill consists in not knowing whether your op­ponent will defect your punch to the outside or the inside, and therefore not knowing how and where you will be obliged to block. " Kung fu people love to learn this part of arnis," Professor Presas grins. "They are used to a similar training approach and find that this element of arnis works well with what they already know."

Gradually, as the arnis student begins to learn the disarming techniques, ele­ments of judo and jujitsu come into play. Playing off movements similar to those used in empty-hand drills-parry to the outside or inside, grab, and attack in one continuous circular motion-the arnis student soon learns that he is able to create spontaneous variations on these dis­arms that accommodate his own particular fighting

style. An arnis defender who has moved in and to the outside of his attacker is in a perfect position to reap or throw an oppo­nent. The defender who has moved to the oppo­nent's inside is faced with a whole other realm of possible follow-ups. Many of the throws and reaps are adapted from judo, while many of the disarm­ing techniques-don't for­get these were initially created to deal with an armed and dangerous op­ponent-rely on joint locks and bone breaks, them­selves variations on ab­breviated jujitsu tech­niques.

Boxing is not dissimilar either. A boxer used to throwing hook punches shares something with the arnis student who is used to rotating his shoulders to turn his torso away from weapon attacks. The footwork in arnis, too, resembles the footwork done by a boxer in that in each case the leg move­ments are dictated by a need for mobile efficiency. Even kickboxing, with its unorthodox kicking com­binations, shares simi­larities with the kicking techniques employed by Presas and other arnis students. In place of the low and high roundhouse

kick combinations favored by the kickboxer, however, Presas applies a low roundhouse kick to the thigh of an opponent then follows up with a round­house kick to the under­side of an opponent's arm, between his elbow and shoulder. An attacker with a dislocated shoulder has problems.

But these are all ways of saying that arnis can be learned quickly by a stu­dent with a background in other martial arts. While Presas likes to claim that arnis is a complete art and that therefore an arnis stu­dent need only work in ar­nis to become a balanced martial artist, he doesn't mind at all if a student wants to learn arnis and apply it to the martial art he is already proficient in.

" It all comes back to the floW," explains Presas.

airports with duffel bags filled with rattan sticks, Pres as showed signs of wanting to settle down. To the disappointment of his Los Angeles friends, how­ever, Presas recently returned to San Francisco, the city perhaps most in harmony with the pro­fessor's flow. Even so, it is not so much his home as his base of operations.

This summer, his base of operations promises to be the beautiful North­west. In conjunction with the International Arnis Federation, Presas and his friend Fred King plan to discover how much arnis and seli-defense can be taught and learned in what King described as "three straight weeks of hard out­door training and fun. "

Though it will be possi­ble to sign up for a week at a time, Presas explains

"By developing the flow, the student is gaining the ability to experiment. He will learn to find

out what works for him."

" By developing the flow, the student is gaining the ability to experiment. He will learn to find out what works for him. I show the student many steps, show how arnis is a part of the other arts. But when it comes time for the stu­dent to apply his art, he will be ready to make his own decision. If he likes to use a side kick from a cer­tain position, he should use the kick. He has learn­ed the flow and so maybe he has become the best martial artist he could be­come. He has to learn to go with the flow."

Certainly, the flow moves strongly in the teacher. For a time it look­ed as though Presas might settle in Los Angeles after about seven years of living an itinerant's life. After years of hanging around at

that "the student who is able to come for the entire three weeks shouid be able to learn enough of the basics of arnis to return home and begin teaching the art, slowly and a little at a time, to those who want to learn." Interested parties may write to the International Arnis Federation, 4241 SE Hawthorne, Portiand, Oregon 97215.

For those who won't be able to make it to the cool Pacific Coast this summer, one parting recommenda­tion. Keep your eyes open at airports. Remy Presas will teach his art almost anywhere, and alertness brings some strange rewards sometimes. In this case, it might be worth a free lesson in arnis just the other side of the bag-gage claim area. )0(